Carlos Tevez is not a greedy bastard. Honest. (But so what if he is?)

The start of the Premier League's silly season seems like a good time for your humble Brit blogger to get back into the Soccer Source saddle (or at least, harness). And what sillier than Carlos Tevez, the man who loved Manchester United, portraying himself as the victim before jumping over to their nearest rivals, Manchester City?

Tevez joining City isn't so silly -- after all, they're the richest club in the world and are on a mission this summer to sign the best players they can. What's silly is the hypocrisy that English football expects of its players. Tevez can't simply come out and say he's joining the club that offered him the most money, oh no. He has to pretend he's just been forced to make a choice that Sophie would have shied away from.

It's an annoying habit, to say the least, and one that John Terry is currently indulging in, pretending to be concerned about Chelsea's chances next year and the quality of summer signings, when really all he wants is a pay rise. (Think that's cynical? Why else could a guy who claims to want to win trophies be considering leaving the second-favorites for next year's title to join the team that finished 10th?)

The view here is that English footballers could learn a thing or two from their U.S. counterparts: it's just a business and teams should pay what players want or risk losing them. And yet the Premier League and its actors still behave as if this is the quaint days of yore when players did it for the love, played for teams they supported and only ever moved when they were hard done by. It's time to move on, fellas. Best of luck to Tevez and Man City (more of whom in a later post) but, please, let's drop the sanctimony and talk of hurt feelings.

--Smoods

Update: So here's Carlos saying he joined because City "has the ambition to be one of the biggest clubs in the world." That's why he left Man United? Really? He helpfully added, "Money was never important." Methinks he might be protesting a bit too much.